Resources for English Teachers

Martin Luther King Day - January 19, 2009;
February is African American History Month (5 websites)
Flashcards in pdf format and instructions on Black History Month

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a U.S. holiday marking the birthday of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.   MLK Day is observed on the third Monday of January each year.  Dr. King was the chief spokesman of the nonviolent civil rights movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law.

And next month, February, is African American History Month.

Here are five websites which highlight Dr. King and celebrate diversity in the United States, and activities with flashcards in pdf format on Black History Month that you can use in your classes:

1)  Free At Last - The U.S. Civil Rights Movement.
This book (in downloadable pdf format) recounts how African-American slaves and their descendants struggled to win - both in law and in practice - the civil rights enjoyed by other U.S. citizens. It is a story of dignified persistence and struggle, a story that produced great heroes and heroines, and one that ultimately succeeded by forcing Americans to confront squarely the shameful gap between their universal principles of equality and justice and the inequality, injustice, and oppression faced by millions of their fellow citizens.
http://www.america.gov/publications/books-content/free-at-last.html

2) FREE is among the most popular K-12 websites maintained by the U.S. Department of Education because of the many great resources being offered by contributing federal agencies.
http://www.free.ed.gov/subjects.cfm?subject_id=116&toplvl=0&res_feature_request=0

3)  February is African American History Month, and as the Library of Congress site notes, it's an area of history that should be incorporated into all discussions about U.S. history. The Library of Congress listened to its own advice and created this most useful site to help students, teachers, and others to do just that.
http://www.loc.gov/topics/africanamericans/

4)  The diverse buildings that front directly onto the Mall in Washington, D.C., comprise the Smithsonian Institution, one of the world's most celebrated museums. It is with little surprise that this Web site is such an excellent source of information about the educational delights offered by this august U.S. institution. The site is divided simply into three main categories: Educators, Families, and Students. The Educators section contains hundreds of lesson plans for a variety of age groups -- all dealing with a number of topics, such as language arts, science, and history.
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/resource_library/african_american_resources.html

5) Time.com celebrates Black History Month with this notable Web page that takes viewers on a journey into the lives of noteworthy African American news makers of the mid to late twentieth century. The site contains a moderate profile of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as a reading room equipped with articles from Time Magazine's cover stories on black culture and extraordinary achievers in education, business, sports, and entertainment. Viewers may also read transcripts of Time.com's exclusive online conversations with people such as Toni Morrison, Angela Davis, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
http://www.time.com/time/reports/blackhistory/

Flash cards and instructions on Black History Month (in pdf format)

Instructions (word format)